I first discovered Elin Hilderbrand when I read the ARC of Barefoot last year. That was just a wonderful book, that I hoped to find more by the same author.
Well, The Beach Club, showed up on our New Arrivals table several weeks ago. But I hadn't hadn't seen it in Hardcover, so I was smart to check the copy wright page. Sure enough, it was a reprint of Hilderbrand's very first book.
Usually I don't bother with reprints, but I am in the mood for serious "beach reading" so I bought the book. And actually loved it!!
The story takes place at one of the oldest, most exclusive resort on Nantucket. The Beach Club tells the story of the actual beach club. The employees, the owners, the guests, and of course, the island itself. I noticed in Barefoot that Elin Hilderbrand makes Nantucket one of the characters in the book. She does an excellent job of setting the scene, you can conjur up the images of the beach , the lobby, the rooms.
Besides the Club, you meet Mack, the Resort Manager who landed on the island twelve years ago after leaving Iowa. You meet Bill & Therese, the owners of the Beach Club. They & the guests would be lost without Mack. You meet Vance, Love, & Jem. All employees of the Club & all seeking different things out of life.
There is the eccentric owner of the Texas Rangers, there is the single mom with the autistic son, there is the overwhelmed single father trying to bring his two families together. And finally you meet Lacey, the resident matriarch. She has been visiting the Club for so long she actually owns her bungalow.
The Beach Club was such an enjoyable book. Not fluff, but not so intellectual that you lose sight of the story. A great beach read!
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